I’ve been wondering when we’d hear an actual conservative take a principled position against torture instead of the subject-changing, excuse-making, or moral relativism we’ve mostly seen from the right on this issue.
Sebastian Holsclaw, who described himself as a conservative blogger with a mostly liberal audience (he used to be a regular commentator on a number of the more prominent liberal weblogs) seems to understand that this isn’t (or shouldn’t be) a partisan wedge issue (Exhortation):
The Republican Party has spent so many years in the minority that sometimes I think we have not adjusted to the fact that we are in power. We are in power now. We control both Houses of Congress and we have our people throughout the administration. We don’t need to wait for the Democrats to raise this issue. We can’t hide behind the worry that exploring our practices is going to get a President elected who is going to retreat from Iraq. We are the party which leads the most powerful country in the world. And lead it we must. President Bush must be shown that the Republican Party is not willing to stand for the perversion of our moral standards.
Comments
2 responses to “Republicans against torture”
Bush is so twisted that there is no point in trying to appeal tohim in any way except to his political advantage. He seems to have no moral standards, but if he can be convinced that the rest of the Repubican Party does, and is ready to ditch him for his pervision of patriotism and morality, then he might switch gears. It would be phony, but it would be better than the present Bush. .
Ask yourself the following:
when did I first realize I was in favor of torture?
Would I be alright with civilian police forces using these same techniques right here in my town? If a 7-year-old girl’s life was on the line? If the suspect were caught in a mass round-up?